As long as Zhang Shou hides in the kitchen and doesn't have to worry about maintaining his manners, eating a few dumplings is just a matter of a moment.
He used to be just confused, but now as he walked in the village, he had a vague judgment in his heart.
The village where the Zhang family lived had a total of thirty or forty households and more than a hundred people. It was not big, but it was not small either. Almost all the people in the village were tenants with different surnames. There were no rich peasants who farmed independently, and there were no other landlords.
For the countryside far away from the city, where there is no royal law but only patriarchal clan law, it is absolutely abnormal that people of all surnames live together and only these orphans and widows are considered wealthy.
Moreover, in the past three years, he had never seen any ruffians or bullies. Even if Qi Liang had been chased by creditors, it was normal private lending, mainly caused by Qi's father who was unproductive but heavily in debt.
Now that I think about it, the tenants in this village must have been carefully selected. If so, the Duke of Zhao was not indifferent to them. At least he not only raised the orphan and the widow, but also established a good living environment for them.
However, this quiet village far away from the hustle and bustle is now becoming like a vegetable market.
This noon time was the only chance to rest during the daily harvest. There were no longer only children in the village, but the adults had all returned from the fields. Especially now that the harvest season was almost over, people's voices seemed to have become higher.
So, when the eight guards from the Duke of Zhao's mansion went shopping for the eldest lady and their own homes, the villagers at home were very excited when they saw the guards, whose clothes showed that they were very wealthy, and asked them what they were buying.
A large bunk bed requires boards, and building a new bed also requires boards. But in such a small village, where can you get the best boards
At this time, Zhang Shou saw with his own eyes that Yang Laoguan, the oldest man in the village who claimed to be highly respected, asked his two sons to carry a coffin board that he had saved for his entire life to the door of his house. He personally invited Zhu Hong, who was dressed in fine clothes, to come over, and then pointed at his own coffin board that had not yet been untied and began to brag about it.
Occasionally the old man would tap on it with his fingers to prove that the wood was indeed of high quality.
As for Zhu Hong... I heard that this was the coffin board that had been saved long ago, and his whole face was a little blue.
Zhang Shou originally just stopped to watch the fun, but when he found that Zhu Hong saw him, he had an idea and simply took the initiative to step forward.
Sure enough, when he saw him coming, Zhu Hong showed an expression of relief.
"Mr. Shou," he bowed first, then coughed dryly and said, "We are just staying here for a few days, how can we use other people's funeral supplies..."
Glancing at the old man Yang with his eyes rolling around, Zhang Shou knew what the old man who had one foot in the coffin was really thinking. He immediately interrupted Zhu Hong and said earnestly, "I know that the word 'shoucai' sounds unlucky. But if it's unlucky, why do people prepare the boards in advance, and some even saw and paint the boards before they die?"
"It's very simple. It's to wash away diseases and disasters. Since it can be washed away, it proves that these things that sound unlucky are actually very blessed. Moreover, the people in this village are warm and honest. When they heard that you are guests from afar and are staying here temporarily but lack beds, they are willing to give up the things they have accumulated all their lives. If you are unwilling, they will only think that you look down on them."